*Five surprises in the latest report from Colombia on Venezuelan migration

A few days ago the most recent report of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Colombia on Venezuelan migration was presented.

An indication of his lack of seriousness is given by the title that seems to paraphrase Woody Allen: “Everything you need to know about Venezuelan migration and they have not told you.” According to this document, in a report made by the Office of Migration on September 30 of this year, 1 million 32 thousand 16 people of Venezuelan origin were in Colombia under various migratory conditions (regular, irregular and in process of regularization). As soon as the first data are thrown, the challenge to logic begins:

The number of Venezuelan people residing in the neighboring country until September 30 of this year is exactly equal to the sum of Venezuelans who, according to this same document, have moved to Colombia since 1991. In other words, or absolutely no one born in Venezuela had ever moved to Colombia before 1991, or those who did returned or died before the aforementioned cut was made.

Between 1991 and the year 2000 no one (read “0”) who was born in Venezuela decided to move to Colombia. For 9 years there were no love stories that merited it, family reunifications or someone who out of simple curiosity chose to move to the neighboring country.

In 2002 only three people born in Venezuela moved to Colombia. Presumably, this document refers to Pedro Carmona Estanga and perhaps two of his relatives, since the Colombian government granted asylum to the ephemeral Venezuelan dictator that same year. Who, by the way, continues to be part of that million and something that indicates the report because even today enjoys the privileged protection of the Colombian State.

Another surprise appears in the section titled “Traffic Migration” where the following can be read: “In this chapter you will find the number of Venezuelan citizens who use Colombia as a transit country to third countries.” Here he points out that 919,142 people used Colombia as a transit country to emigrate to another. The amazing thing is that by discriminating that number of migrants who passed through Colombia to go to third countries, he reports that the second place of destination chosen by 243,426 people, or 26%, was none other than Venezuela.

Likewise, of that total figure of 1 million 32 thousand 16 people, it informs that 80 thousand 350 entered by unauthorized points (as trails). This figure, he says, is the product of “a statistical calculation made by the Colombian immigration authority” but its reference values ​​or the formula used is never mentioned, so it is impossible to know if it is a succession, an arithmetic progression or a delirium caused by the drunkenness that the Colombian government produces in order to manipulate national and international public opinion with the support of the largest media corporations that are already replicating these figures.

Finally, two interesting facts.

According to this same document, approximately 75% of the Venezuelan population living in Colombia is economically active, which is a clear advantage for the exploiting class of any capitalist country. The other is that only between January and September this year deported or expelled 968 people of Venezuelan origin.

For a more pragmatic objective, the National Council of Economic and Social Policy of the Republic of Colombia presented a document based on this report from Migración Colombia, in which it defines a strategy to address migration from Venezuela. This plan focuses on estimating the costs of each of the “attentions” it proposes.

As I mentioned in previous articles, the business of war also includes millionaire figures that move for the attention of displaced persons and refugees. Accessing these resources is one of the objectives of this manipulation of figures and characterizations of Venezuelan migration.

The mathematical incapacity has become fashionable these days between spokesmen and spokespersons of the Uribe government. One of the social crises facing the current Colombian government comes from the decision to reduce the budget of public universities and increase the military budget by 2019. That is one of the main demands of the calls that, incidentally, are being made from various sectors to the popular outlets of the main cities of the country as of today.

Annoyed by the demands of the student sector, the ultra-right senator Maria Fernanda Cabal, for example, said in an interview that public universities are an unnecessary expense, after all, she said, of 50 thousand students only 4 thousand are admitted to the University of Antioquia and 36 thousand are left outside (sic).

Defense Minister Guillermo Botero responded to the question about the origin of the figure of 6,000 parks that President Duque claims to have recovered, explaining to the journalist that this figure was “to add 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 … up to 6 thousand. ”

So now, trusting that the mathematical incapacity is generalized, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Colombia presents this report on the Venezuelan migration to Colombia so unserious and tendentious, that it merits these urgent lines to be denounced as one of the most inept maneuvers of the Colombian government against Venezuela in recent times.

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The Orinoco Tribune is an independent news outlet specially designed to provide relevant progressive information about Venezuela in form of news articles and opinion pieces for English speakers around the world.

We are a group of Venezuelans committed with the progressive perspective that have lived abroad for several years and because of that we understand the need of information in other parts of the globe and we can provide information with Venezuelan seasoning for global audiences.

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